The Samruddhi Mahamarg in Maharashtra, a 502 km stretch in between Nagpur and Shirdi, will be opened for the public in the coming 3 months. The 701 km-lengthy and 120-m broad higher-speed corridor is created for a top rated speed of 150 km per hour. The project that reduce across 10 districts of Maharashtra was conceptualized in the year 2015 and the building work had begun in January 2019. According to an IE report, the new highway starts in a compact village, Shivmadka in Hingna tehsil of Nagpur. Located at a distance of 23 km away from Nagpur, it presently serves as the outer bypass to the city. Following are the functions of the country’s ‘fastest’ highway:
For the very first time in Maharashtra, a single-layer concrete paver has been utilized for the entire 15 metre width of the concrete slabs on either side of the road.
The highway cuts across 3 wildlife sanctuaries as effectively as 35 wildlife concentrate locations. Thus, unique wildlife mitigation measures like undercrossing, overpasses, higher box culverts are getting created to facilitate the movement of animals to keep away from roadkills.
Besides various scenic landscapes that travellers will pass by means of on this highway, is also a bridge getting constructed on river Wardha. The highway, about 89 km from the beginning point, passes by means of this river on which a 310 metre lengthy higher bridge is getting constructed.
The alignment has 33 key bridges and 274 minor bridges in total.
The highway has been modelled on the lines of a pedestrian bridge in New York and has a motorable bow string bridge positioned at the district of Wardha. The bow string will be of 80 meters length, although the bridge is 120 metres lengthy itself, Bhushan Malkhandale, Executive Engineer, MSRDC was quoted saying in the report.
At various places, contractors have had to reduce by means of hillocks, given that a substantial component of the highway passes by means of hilly terrain.
Also, as several as 65 viaducts or flyovers are getting constructed along the highway.
A total of six tunnels are also getting constructed on the highway, mostly by means of ecologically sensitive North-Western Ghats. The longest tunnel of Maharashtra will also come up along the route at Kasara Ghat, Igatpuri.
According to Hemant Jagtap, MSRDC Executive Engineer (Nodal), the tunnels have been created for a life of one hundred years. They are getting constructed by making use of contemporary-day approach of ‘New Australian Tunnelling Method’, also identified as ‘design as you go’. This technologies stabilises the tunnel wherever doable rather than reinforcing the all round tunnel.